Bioethics Public Policy Report: July 2
STATE By State
A Missouri state court threw out a challenge to the State’s pro-life laws on religious grounds. The challenge came because the law acknowledges “Almighty God [as] the author of life,” and it was comprised of various religious groups and denominations claiming that such a statement violates their religious beliefs. For further information, click here.
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed a state senate bill that would require insurance coverage for de-transitioning procedures for those who choose to undergo them after transgender surgeries. Gov. Hobbs stated that such coverage would be “unnecessary and would create a privacy risk for patients.” For further information, click here.
New York court put a pro-abortion amendment to the state constitution back on the ballot as a ballot measure. The measure, if passed, would enshrine a “right” to abortion in the state constitution. Republicans plan to appeal the decision. For further information, click here.
The State of Texas is investigating a children’s hospital for performing secret sex change surgeries on minors in defiance of the State’s ban on such surgeries. The investigation comes after Dr. Eithan Haim shared information concerning ongoing procedures, who has since been indicted for an alleged violation of HIPAA. For further information, click here.
Delaware’s state senate narrowly passed a bill, by an 11-10 vote, to legalize “Medical Aid in Dying,” which is assisted suicide. It is unclear if the bill will be signed into law, as incumbent Democratic Gov. John Carney has voiced his opposition to assisted suicide in the past. Bishop William Koenig of Wilmington voiced opposition to the passage of the bill, saying that “it’s wrong for society to say this is something we condone.” For further information, click here.
A Montana state court judge struck down a statute which states that there are two sexes, which are male and female. The judge, Shane Vannatta, said that the statute does not “guard[] against deceptive or misleading titles.” The State is expected to appeal the case. For further information, click here.
Ohio’s house of representatives passed a bill that will require schools to designate male-only and female-only bathrooms and locker rooms if signed into law. Specifically, the law prohibits schools from allowing members of the opposing biological sexes to use the bathrooms or locker rooms of one another. To read the bill, click here. For further information, click here.
Federal Courts
A U.S. District Court judge in Kentucky blocked the Biden administration’s new Title IX regulations extending “sex” to include “gender identity.” Judge Danny Reeves, in his opinion, stated, “There are two sexes: male and female.” For further information, click here.
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana ruled that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops will not be forced to provide for abortions of employees as the lawsuit over the Biden administration’s new EEOC regulations moves forward. For further information, click here.
The Supreme Court reversed course and decided not to take up Moyle v. United States after the draft opinion was mistakenly released to the public. The decision was not decided on the merits, but it will mean that the Idaho case will continue at the lower level over whether doctors are required to perform emergency room abortions under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA). For further information, click here.
In Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, the Supreme Court overturned the 40-year-old Chevron case, which gave wide discretional latitude to federal administrative agencies. Courts may no longer “defer to an agency interpretation of the law” when the law itself is unclear, which could relieve some pressure on religious organizations from federal agencies. For further information, click here.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments for a case where the Biden administration is challenging the State of Tennessee’s authority to ban transgender procedures for minors. The Sixth Circuit had allowed the law to stay in place, but the Biden administration appealed the case. For further information, click here.
Democratic Rep. Aftyn Behn and another pro-abortion advocate filed suit against the State of Tennessee over its law preventing adults from trafficking children across state lines to obtain abortions. The law prevents any adult from transporting a minor across state lines to procure an abortion without parental consent. For further information, click here.
NATIONAL
Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minnesota, introduced a bill to repeal the Comstock Act, a 150-year-old law which could prevent chemical abortion pills from being transported through the mail if enforced by a Republican-led executive branch. Sen. Smith claimed that Republicans and pro-life advocates will use the law to ban abortion nationwide. For further information, click here.
The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) was pressured by the Biden administration to remove age guidelines for transgender treatments for minors. This pressure came to light in certain filings in a federal court case in Alabama showing an email exchange between WPATH and Admiral Levine, the assistant secretary for health, showed Levine requesting WPATH to change their guidelines. Levine is the first transgender individual in a Senate-confirmed position in a presidential administration. For further information, click here.
international
India’s supreme court suggested that the nation’s anti-conversion law may be unconstitutional under their constitution during a hearing in May. The court said that “some parts [of the law] may seem to be violative of the fundamental right to religion guaranteed under Article 25 of the Constitution.” For further information, click here.
Following a proposal by Irish politicians to legalize physician-assisted suicide, Irish bishops issued a statement decrying the push for the introduction of such a bill in parliament. The bishops said that assisted suicide as a “treatment” does not treat the problems faced by patients, but rather “cuts off any prospect of growth or healing and represents a failure of hope.” To read the statement, click here.
St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, was sued for refusing to provide euthanasia for the plaintiffs’ terminally ill daughter. The daughter had been transferred to another facility to be euthanized, but the parents are still suing the Catholic hospital for refusing the procedure to be done on their premises. For further information, click here.
OF NOTE
Bishop Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, issued a statement saying that, despite the Supreme Court’s decision on standing grounds, nevertheless “the U.S. Food and Drug Administration repeatedly and unlawfully cut corners to put chemical abortion pills on the market and then to reduce the safety protocols around them.” For further information, click here.
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The National Catholic Bioethics Center website is a significant resource for bioethics information. NCBC bioethicists are also on call for consultation twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, at 215-877-2660.
Justin Corman
Justin Corman is a guest editor at the NCBC, and a student at Ave Maria School of Law.